Crème Brulee

I didn’t think I was much of a crème brulee person. I’m not sure what I thought crème brulee was but I have an issue with custards that appear lumpy and especially anything that might resemble tapioca type filling. Ugh. Just the thought.

I went to a parochial school first through eighth grade. Since we lived two houses away from the school, I always went home for lunch. Back in the day when you could walk unsupervised and you could leave the school premises without anyone giving it a thought. Now you’re padded down to come and go and have to be chaperoned to and from the school.

So back in the good ole days, I begged to buy my lunch. Please, please, pretty please. One day I was allowed.

It was exciting standing in line waiting for the hot plate lunch.

I watched as a girl younger than myself got up to throw her trash away and leave. But Sr. Mean Nun pointed her shaking finger at her, scowling, and telling her she had to eat all of her dessert. It looked like pudding. We girls whispered and stared. I overheard someone say it was tapioca pudding. I stood in horror as I watched Little Ms. I Hate Tapioca spoon tapioca pudding in her mouth only to vomit it in her school uniform. Bite by bite, vomit by vomit she carried on until she was finished… eating every last drop of that tapioca pudding.

Never having had tapioca pudding, I knew I wasn’t going to like it now. I wondered how I was going to get rid of my tapioca pudding when it came time to do so or how would I avoid Sr. Mean Nun. I’ll never beg again to buy my lunch were the thoughts running through my head. I was never so grateful to find someone who wanted my tapioca pudding and gobbled it right up. I turned away and thanked God privately.

My best friend who stood beside me on that day can’t eat any type of pudding or custard. Mention tapioca in front of either of us and we, “ewwwwww” in unison. Some moments one never forgets.

Now that I’ve ruined your appetite, try not to think tapioca but luscious cream that’s cooked to a smooth goodness, velvety and rich. I wish I could remember the restaurant we were at when I had a bite of my husband’s crème brulee because that was heaven. That’s when I discovered it was smooth and not lumpy. The crusty brown sugar on top gave it that lumpy appearance.

I made crème brulee for a special dinner I created for my hubby and unfortunately I don’t know where I got the recipe. But I do know there’s a recipe in Mastering the Art of French Cooking that I plan to try some day. I’m sure it’s good… so long as it doesn’t call for tapioca. It doesn’t matter what kind of recipe it is, if there’s tapioca involved, I skip right over it.

Here’s a few pictures of making crème brulee.